Pumas manager Ricardo Ferretti said his team is ready to hoist their sixth Mexican league trophy and will enter Thursday's first leg with focus.

Pumas
have been dreaming of reaching the final all season long. The Felinos
got off to a flying start with two consecutive wins but then a four-game
winless streak followed. Pumas turned their season around though, and only lost one more time the rest of the regular season.

Although
Pumas were effective during the regular season they stumbled once in
the quarterfinal and semifinal series. But Ricardo “El Tuca” Ferretti
assured everyone that his team will be ready to face Pachuca.

“Pumas
are coming off a great moment and are prepared for the final. We know
our opponents capacity that along with Toluca were the best in the
regular tournament, which is why they deserve my respect,” said
Ferretti after finishing a game of football tennis.

Pumas
qualified third into the Liguilla which is also something to be proud
of. They beat difficult teams in Tecos and Puebla in order to reach the
final.

The first leg of the final series will be played at
home for Pumas. El Tuca knows that if they want to lift the cup for the sixth time in Pumas’ history they will have to do a good job on Thursday.

“Pumas
have the illusion of being champion,” admitted El Tuca. “We are but
steps away from reaching our goal. We need to have a great game on
Thursday where we will look to take the first step.”

This will
be the first time that Pumas and Pachuca meet in the final. But the
current managers of each club have met in a final before. It was the
summer tournament of 1997. Ricardo Ferretti was then manager of Chivas,
while Enrique Meza was at the helm of the now-defunct Toros Neza. It
was obvious then that Ferretti had the stronger team after Chivas
dismantled Toros Neza 7-2 on aggregate.

This time Enrique Meza
has arguably the best team in Mexico, but both sides do seem evenly
matched. For Meza the victory will be sweet but revenge will always be
sweeter. Sylvestre Adame, Goal.com